Physiologist (Russian literature)

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Originally, Physiologist was an ancient collection of stories about nature, which probably appeared in Alexandria in 200 - 300 A.D. The ancient Russian Physiologist (Russian: Физиолог) in its 15th-century version is a translation from Bulgarian. The Bulgarian version, in turn, was translated from Greek in the 11th - 12th century. Physiologist contains information on animals and birds (lion, eagle etc.), mythical creatures (phoenix, centaur, siren etc.), stones, and trees. The stories are accompanied by commentaries in the spirit of medieval Christian symbolism. The images from the Physiologist found reflection in the old Russian literature, iconography, and book ornamentation.